What about the remains of astronauts who died in space? Worst case: it may be eaten.

In the past half century, human beings have lost 2 1 person on the way to explore space, which are all caused by real space disasters. However, as human beings head for Mars with great ambition, the possibility of death will be higher-whether on the way, in harsh environment or for other reasons. If an astronaut suddenly has a heart attack after entering space, or has an accident while walking in space, or dies unexpectedly on the way to Mars, what should he do with his body?

"Ground center, should we put him in the freezer or ... throw him out?"

This is a very interesting question raised by foreign media. But so far, NASA has no specific therapy, which I believe is true in all countries.

At present, astronauts usually work in the International Space Station for about six months. Before being approved to fly into space, all of them passed strict medical examination, and so far no one has died on the International Space Station. It is clear from NASA's report that they pay more attention to prevention than what to do when astronauts really die in space.

Before discussing how to deal with the remains of astronauts in outer space, let's first introduce what scientists infer will happen if death occurs in a place without gravity and air pressure.

This is a hypothetical situation.

Astronaut Liu Peiqiang is carrying out maintenance outside the space station. Suddenly, Liu Peiqiang's fluffy white spacesuit was hit by a tiny meteorite fragment, and a hole appeared in the spacesuit instantly. Unlike what you may see or read in science fiction, Liu Peiqiang's eyes will not protrude from his skull, and his blood will be crushed by pressure, so nothing dramatic will happen. However, Liu Peiqiang must act quickly, because he will lose consciousness within 9 to 1 1 second. This is a weird and creepy "prime time".

If he doesn't return to the space station quickly, from the moment the pressure disappears, the gas in Liu Peiqiang's body begins to expand and the liquid becomes gas. The water in the muscle will be converted into steam, which will gather under Liu Peiqiang's skin and expand his body area to twice the normal size. At the same time, insufficient pressure will cause nitrogen in his blood to form bubbles, and then his heart rate and blood pressure will drop, and his blood will boil ... If he misses the prime time, when other astronauts pull him back to the space station, there is only one space corpse.

Astronauts were killed in space. What about the body?

In fact, all countries have thought about this inevitability in space exploration, although people will not talk about it openly. Then, here is a question for everyone: Should Liu Peiqiang's body return to the earth? Depending on your decision, the following will happen.

A, bring the astronauts' bodies back to Earth!

Decomposition at low temperature may slow down, so in order to bring it back to the earth, it is necessary to keep the astronauts' bodies as cool as possible (plus other astronauts don't want the sewage from the decomposed bodies to enter the living area on board). On the International Space Station, astronauts put garbage and food scraps in the coldest place on the station. This will prevent bacteria from growing, thus reducing food decay and preventing astronauts from smelling unpleasant smells.

What if an astronaut dies of a heart attack on a long journey to Mars? In 2005, NASA cooperated with Promessa, an ecological funeral company in Sweden, to design a system for handling and accommodating space corpses-Body Back System (meaning to bring back and return corpses, but they are incomplete).

If a spacecraft is equipped with a fuselage back system, it works as follows. The astronauts' bodies will be placed in sealed bags made of GoreTex (thin and strong) and pushed into the airlock of the spacecraft. In the airlock, the space temperature (--270°C) will freeze the remains of astronauts. About an hour later, the robotic arm took the bag back to the space shuttle and vibrated for 15 minutes, crushing the frozen astronaut's remains into powder. After dehydration, these powders will leave about 25 kilograms of powder. In theory, the remains of astronauts can be stored in powder form for several years, and then brought back to earth to give to their families.

B, leave the astronauts' bodies in space!

You don't have to bring the astronaut's body back to earth, you can give him a tragic "space funeral." At present, some people have spent 12000 dollars or more to cremate the remains and launch them into earth orbit, the surface of the moon or deep space. However, if the astronauts float in space after death, the picture should be quite penetrating. Although sea burial has always been a traditional way for sailors and explorers to rest in peace, "space burial" is different.

The space is vast but uncontrolled. We can imagine that when the astronaut's body enters space, most of the "ecology" responsible for decomposing the body will disappear rapidly during the drying process (as well as hypoxia, temperature fluctuation and solar radiation level), so the body will not rot badly. On the contrary, it lost about 80% of its weight in water and became a freeze-dried mummy.

What happens next depends on the exact position of the object in space. If its orbit is close to the earth, its orbit will decay rapidly, and soon it will re-enter the atmosphere and burn. If its orbit is a little higher, it will gradually become a kind of space junk, and finally it may collide violently with something in a few decades.

Of course, if the astronaut's body is sent into space by an aircraft similar to an escape capsule (the cost should be quite high and it is unlikely), then it will escape from our solar system and reach the exoplanet through the empty interstellar space. Microorganisms and bacterial spores that survive in any atmosphere may survive there and rupture when impacted, which can create life on new planets.

Die on Mars, bury Mars directly or return to Earth?

Elon musk once said, "If you want to go to Mars, get ready to die!"

If someone dies on a spaceship on the way to Mars, it is probably a good solution to refrigerate or hold a funeral on Mars. But this may bring some potential pollution problems to Mars. You know, the spacecraft has been repeatedly cleaned and disinfected before launch to protect potential habitable places from the invasion of powerful microorganisms on the earth. However, compared with the bacteria that hitchhike on the dead, the microbes on the spacecraft are nothing at all.

If you bring it back, the cost is a problem. Today's spacecraft usually don't have much extra space.

There is a worst-case scenario. Humans have spent thousands of years crossing the dangerous scenery, and in the name of discovery, they have plunged themselves into a strange and dangerous situation. In this pursuit, thousands of people died, and sometimes the dead actually saved their comrades' lives. But it should be noted that this is not through heroism, but through cannibalism.

If there is an accident on Mars, astronauts will die and lose food. The rescue spacecraft will take six months to two years to reach Mars. Do survivors want to grow potatoes like the man in Mars Rescue? But in fact, Martian soil lacks organic matter and is rich in heavy metals and perchlorates, which is not suitable for planting. What should the surviving astronauts do at this time?

There is a saying in the science fiction "Martians": "Food supply will not be the only food source." An astronaut's body contains at least 100 kg of high-quality protein, but it is a choice to test human nature.

Finally, I want to say that when we enter the era of space exploration, the idea of death will definitely hang over every astronaut who performs space missions. But it's like climbing Mount Everest. If you die on the road, you will stay there. At present, there are more than 200 bodies left on Mount Qomolangma, some of which are still visible on days with little snow. Remind everyone who passes by them that they are risking their lives and being buried to the top.

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